September is Attendance Awareness Month

Celebrated for the first time in September 2013, Attendance Awareness Month is a national recognition of the connection between school attendance and academic achievement. It is crucial for schools and communities to promote the value of good attendance and to take positive steps toward reducing chronic absence.

Throughout the country, there is a growing consensus that improving student attendance is essential for ensuring student success and reducing achievement gaps. Nationwide, as many as one out of seven students are chronically absent. When students are chronically absent, they are missing on average two or more days a month. Chronic absence is a sign that students may be experiencing barriers to getting to school or are disengaged because their school experience makes them feel unsafe and unsupported.

Attendance reflects whether what happens in school encourages students to show up every day or is a symptom of challenges experienced by a student in the community or at home. Join Chesapeake Public Schools this September as we endeavor to encourage attendance that will prepare our students for success in school, work, and life.